Film Review - 'Darth Maul: Apprentice' - A 'Star Wars' Fan Film
‘Star Wars - Darth Maul: Apprentice’ poster
After I showed the boys the Tolkien fan-film, ‘Born of Hope’, Gordon asked if I’d like to watch some of his favourite ‘Star Wars’-based fan films, and the answer was a definite ‘yes’!
Of the ones he showed me, the two I liked most were this film about Darth Maul, and another to do with Darth Vader, by ‘Star Wars Theory’, called ‘Shards of the Past’.
The reason I didn’t pick the Darth Vader film is because, so far, only the first part has been released, and I’d rather review it as a complete film.
Having said that, I still recommend watching it as the story is already a compelling one.
‘Darth Maul: Apprentice’, a non-profit fan film filmed in Germany, was made in 2014/15 by T7 Production, a German-based film company, and has a run-time of just under 18 minutes.
Written and directed by Shawn Bu, the film tells of Maul’s time as Darth Sidious’ apprentice.
Maul, played by Ben Schamma, remains hidden as he trains alone on an unknown planet under the remote but watchful eye of Darth Sidious, played by Dirk Chwialkowsky and voiced by Lee Hua.
Maul, played by Ben Schamma
When an orbiting drone reports an approaching spaceship, Maul sets out to investigate, ready to kill whoever is on board as knowledge of his existence and training must remain secret.
Faced with a Jedi, Maul swiftly kills him.
But the Jedi wasn’t alone, and Maul soon finds himself facing another five, including a Jedi Master, played by Mathis Landwehr and his young apprentice, played by Svenja Jung.
Jedi played by (from left) Sefa Demirbas, Mathis Landwehr, Svenja Jung, Maja Felicitas Bergmann, and Eskindir Tesfay
The bulk of the film consists of the fight between Maul and the Jedi as they, first, take him together then one-on-one.
The cinematography, the casting, and, especially, the fight choreography, are what I would expect from a big budget production.
In fact, watching the lightsaber fights, I forgot I was watching a fan-made film.
Ben Schamma has done a great job portraying Maul.
Maul (Ben Schamma)
Apart from completely looking the part, he’s even got the moves and mannerisms of Ray Park’s Darth Maul from ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’.
If you’re a ‘Star Wars’ fan and, especially, a Darth Maul fan, and haven’t watched ‘Darth Maul: Apprentice’ yet, I highly recommend doing so and would go so far as to say, I’m sure you will not be disappointed.